Forecast

It's not the time for bickering

By Paul Tonko, Commentary
| on June 19, 2014

In 2001, I had the honor of meeting a Little Leaguer from Rotterdam named Timothy O'Clair. Timothy was a bright and energetic young man who suffered from debilitating mental illnesses. When Timothy's insurance would no longer cover his mental health treatment, his parents were forced to disown him in order to get care. Tragically, at age 12, Timothy took his own life. The mental health system utterly failed him.

In response, I fought to make the system better. Working across party lines, I led the push in New York to pass Timothy's Law, which ensured that insurance companies could not discriminate against mental health care. In Washington, I have continued my advocacy for the mentally ill by strengthening mental health parity protections and helping to pass the Affordable Care Act, which has improved mental health benefits for more than 60 million Americans.

Having spent much of my career working to better our mental health system, I found the insinuation in a June 11 commentary that I would ever put partisan politics before the needs of the mentally ill not only wrong, but highly insulting. Such a crass and simplistic conclusion belies the fact that there are major substantive differences in how two bills currently being considered in the House of Representatives would address the needs of the mentally ill. Such personal attacks are precisely the type of shameful politics that the country is upset with today.

As an engineer, my approach to legislating has always been to relentlessly find solutions to our nation's pressing problems, regardless of party affiliation. When it comes to mental health, the best answer is not to cut hundreds of millions of dollars out of programs that help schools support mental health professionals and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, which has answered millions of calls since 2005. Likewise, the path forward is not to diminish the rights of those with mental illness and eviscerate organizations that exist to protect the mentally ill from abuse and neglect.

Those are just a few of the "solutions" put forward in Rep. Tim Murphy's bill, and I would oppose these provisions whether they were introduced by Republicans or Democrats. To be clear, I know Murphy's intentions are good, but I strongly disagree with his policy approach.

By contrast, the Strengthening Mental Health in our Communities Act, introduced by my colleague Rep. Ron Barber, who possesses 32 years of experience in the mental health field, builds a solid foundation to prevent mental health crises before they occur. That is why I joined my colleagues in authoring this piece of legislation. This bill would maximize access to and increase the impact of community-based mental health services, making new investments in prevention and early intervention of mental illness, and advancing research into mental health. This effort represents a new, inclusive and far-reaching approach to fighting mental illness.

While I have articulated my legislative vision for mental health reform, I don't have the audacity to believe that I alone have all the solutions to fix our failing mental health system. I have made clear in numerous meetings with mental health advocates from the Capital Region and beyond that I possess the willingness and drive to work with anyone to get this job done. Mental health is not and cannot become a partisan issue. What matters most are solutions for countless individuals and families suffering with the impacts of mental illness, not partisan bickering.

I will continue to give all I have to fight for families like the O'Clairs and advance thoughtful legislation that addresses the true needs of the mentally ill in our country.